As you might recall, Padgett got bagged for some pissant reckless driving, speeding ticket, whatever in Florida back in 2003.

He basically blew past a cop. Not a big deal really. Until someone says ya lied about it.

“To be fair to everyone, we asked all of the candidates the same questions,” said Mark Taylor, president of Knoxville Fraternal Order of Police, Volunteer Lodge No. 2 “One of those questions was, 'have you ever been arrested?'”

He said FOP officials had no official information that either candidate have ever spent any time in the clink before they conducted the interviews.

The FOP's Pac Committee met individually with each candidate on Aug. 25. Prior to that, they each received a questionnaire, just so the organization could get a better picture of where they stood.

“Everyone who came in front of us was asked the same thing – even the judges – just to be fair,” said Charlie Bundren, the FOP's financial secretary and manager of its fund raising arm. “He (Padgett) said he had not been arrested.”

Bundren said the committee is comprised of the organization's 14-member executive board. He said there were probably about 10 members in the room that day.

I talked to Padgett about the accusations. His response was somewhat shaky.

He first said he “didn't remember” whether he was asked. He said he asked Mark Taylor recently whether he had been. “I'm pretty sure Mark said they didn't (ask that question),” he told me.

Then he said: “My answer, Mike, is 'no they never asked me that – not in the questionnaire or in the interviews.'”

Bundren's response?

“He's not being truthful. Either that or he forgot.”

Bundren, who spent almost 32 years with the Knoxville Police Department and retired as a top-ranking criminal investigator, said “it's a natural question that a law enforcement officer asks.”

But, I'll do Padgett a solid. Since I just spent a few sentences, rambling on like a mental patient about whether he told the truth.

Padgett says no one has written about his 28-page plan. Er, not exactly. I touched on it during a follow-up story after the primary. And I've made fun of it – along with everything else in the world that makes me laugh cause I love entertainment at the expense of others – on the blog.

In several radio interviews, Madeline Rogero stated that she has not proposed a rain tax and that she does not want one. However, according to her Metro Pulse questionnaire, “As mayor, I will implement the Energy and Sustainability Plan produced this past year by Mayor Haslam’s Energy and Sustainability Task Force, which I co-chaired.”

“Talk about misleading people,” Mark told me.

I asked Rogero about this.

She said: “I said before and I'll say it again: I have not proposed nor do I favor a user fee. I was a co-chair the last year with (city policy maker and overall bad ass) Bill Lyons and there were different subgroups that met on different issues. And one of the subgroups proposed that the city leadership look at that, and the city leadership has not proposed to do so and neither have I.”

Final wrap; left over crap. I mean, stuff

Because I got some leftover scribblings, I'll just post them here, clear out the notebook.

Since I mentioned that Rogero received the FOP's endorsement, it's fair to mention that Padgett has snagged a few, too, including support from some of the Haslams, the Realtors and Home Builders Association and Jim Clayton over there at Clayton Bank and Trust.

I don't know whether endorsements will make or break an election, but they probably do help.

As Padgett noted, people don't have a lot of time to sit down with each candidate, so they look to an organization or a friend to find out where they stand. It's good “word of mouth advertising,” Padgett said.

I thought it was suspicious when Madeline said the FOP asked about her arrest record, but Padgett said they didn't ask about his. Questionnaires of all types generally consist of the same questions. What else doesn't he remember?

I thought at the time it was weird that the FOP didn't ask Padgett this question, when I knew they had asked several Council candidates.

The arrest is no biggie. Why on earth he lied to the FOP is beyond me. Even then he could have saved it by saying "I forgot about the arrest when I was talking to them" when he was originally asked by the FOP.

Lying and then lying about lying - about the worst thing a politician can do.

BTW, to be fair, Dee Haslam has contributed quite a bit of $$$ to the Rogero campaign, so the Haslam family isn't united on this one.

Seriously, dude looks hammered in that mugshot - and it wouldn't have been hard for him to make a call to Daddy Padgett or people he worked with in the Bredesen administration to help make a DUI go down to reckless driving

Shesh, it seems like the kid is always telling some kind of half-truth. I want a leader with integrity. The boy just seems to tell everyone what they want to hear. A real leader is able to make the tough calls, even when they are unpopular. As a old timer, I respected Haslam for always being honest. When he was running against Rogero back in 2003, you never saw all this negative junk. It seems like the kid will say and do anything to win, can't see myself voting for that. There is already too much of it politics these days

Ditto! Less than a week until the election, people!! If this race doesn't deserve up-to-the-minute, deep diving coverage, then what story does? This IS a story. Please write about it in our city's daily newspaper. A lot of people need to know.

I don't know if this will be a story that sees print. I've worked at a number of newspapers, including several metropolitan ones and all have policies about running last minute pieces that paint candidates in a bad light. (Now, something on the felony level doesn't count.)

When I say "last minute" it can be a day, two days, even a week. Many papers also have policies about running letters to the editor that support a candidate, just days before an election.

So, while I agree that the story should be in the paper, I don't know if it will. (I don't call the shots. Which is probably a good thing.)

In the meantime, I do have a great deal of control over what I post on the blog, so I am allowed to write about the FOP deal over here.

Strange, I know.

But, don't take the issue's absence from the paper as some cover up or anything like that. It's a policy issue. The same thing would be the case for any candidate.

I'm sure reporters are overworked, but I don't know why Jim Balloch didn't confirm with the FOP whether they asked Padgett about his arrest record or not. Especially after Madeline said they did. Inconsistent.

The FOP had no business making any statements about the private questions that they asked the candidates. If I were a candidate, and saw how they have made these statements, I would be pissed.

The FOP made their decision to endorse Rogero, so be it, but it is inappropriate for them to now come out and make ANY statements about those interviews.They have made themselves look bad by doing this.

And I am not making any apologies for what Padgett did or didn't do, he will have to deal with that.

There is a proposal to create a Stormwater Utility fee in the City of Knoxville. Its called the Energy and Sustainability Work Plan, that Rogero was the Co-Chair of for the last 2 years.http://www.cityofknoxville.org/sustainability/esworkplan.pdf

For Rogero to now claim that she didn't know about it, and that the City has never suggested it is just not true.

Please go the the link, and read about it yourselves. Rogero is just covering her but, because SHE got caught not telling the truth.

Seems like Mugshot Mark doesn't think the truth applies to him. Not the kind of qualities we want in a leader. Has Mugshot ever had to make any tough choices? Has he even been to a city council meeting even? Does he know the purpose of a work plan? Seems like the boy needs to take Truth 101 and Civics 102.

I love how the increasingly desperate Padgett campaign is trying to make everything about the fairy tale "Rain Tax." These fools raised $500K for a Knoxville city election and that is the best they can do? His "reckless driving" aside, how can Knoxville ever have this guy represent it at any level politically?

There will be an acrid smell the day after the election. It will be the smell of burning rubber as Tony "The Cellphone" Coppola gets the hell out of town.

If it was simply a "reckless driving" charge, like I read in KNS, why is Padge doing everything to hide it. Why can't he just come clean with the people of Knoxville? From his business to this recent lie, it seems like Padgett has some serious character issues.

I'd hate him if I were one of the people that contributed to his campaign. I mean, $500k+ is very impressive, except for the fact that he's wasted it all on these terrible negative mailers and he's not even going to be close to a victory.

And you all think Madeline has never lied about anything, she lied about that she didn't know anything of the rain tax proposal. She is just like President Obama, she will have us in debt in less than 18 months. All she know what to do is tax and spend. Her first husband had to sue her to get her to stay in Knoxville, or she was moving back to Ohio with their kids, we need to go whip his butt for not letting her go. After he won in court and she was forced to stay here she decided to run for County Commission.

Also her current husband was on the same task force with Rikki Hall that proposed the rain tax, that she said she will enact. What else has she hide from the citizens of Knoxville?

I understand that Knoxville is trying to grow as a city, but I do not like the big city drama that appears to be associated with Mr. Padgett's past. This image of him ( http://mugshots.com/US-Counties/Florida/Walton-County-FL/Joseph-Mark-Padgett.html ) is shocking to me. At this point, I am glad that I did not already cast my vote during early voting. I need to see how Mr. Padgett will react to this adversity before continuing as I had planned and vote for him.

a good christian tells the truth, no matter what. in our sermon the other day the pastor talked about the same thing. this isnt a good news story for mark because he wasnt truthful with the police. he needs to respect them otherwise they may not trust him if he becomes elected as mayor of knoxville and resist his policies and stuff

I have relatives that live in Florida and they tell me that they do arrest people that drive excessive speeds, especially out of state drivers. I don't care who you work for if you get arrested and booked you pay the fine. You can plead guilt and pay a lesser fine if your first offense. This is a non story that he has not lied about. He was asked several times before the television forum and he answered then and again on television, it was Madeline that would not answer the blog questions about her arrest until Hubert Smith asked the question to them both and she was proud of hers she even said I one up you Mark I have been arrested two times for civil disobedance. One for trespassing infront of a grocery store because they would not buy from the union farms, the store was buying from local farmers. Sounds like she cares more about the unions than the local business.

Another one lost to church night. Get a girlfriend too? It must suck to be assimilated. Only a matter of time before one of the flock bolts and spills the beans. Is it a cult? Worship of the special IPA and pets and strokes? Good boy, pretty boy. He is so obedient. Watch him fetch. Ooh, uses satire to misdirect. So clever. This would be a great novel or screenplay. Who sells out first?

how did annoymous get the arrest report? is that like those people on wall street with the masks? i heard they are shutting down facebook soon. im worried because thats how i found out about this. padgett better not piss of that annonmous guy because he can do a lot of stuff

This is what is wrong with society these days. In the past, Daddy could just pay for cases like this to go away. I miss the days like that, a more innocent time. Maybe it would have disappeared better if Daddy had paid a little more money.

What do you think of Padgett as a businessman, @Steve Jobs' Ghost? I'm all about bringing new and fresh ideas - a youthful perspective - to a project, the workplace, and even government. But come on now. Mayor? Of a city as large as Knoxville?! Padgett has built his campaign around his great ability to start an internet-based business that has grown to employ a whopping 5 employees. That's what he says, at least. (Actual data and details of company are few and far between.)

Padgett is 33 years old. At age 22, you co-founded Apple. By age 30, you resigned as chairman and created Pixar. It pains me to think that someone with Mark's meager experience in business would tout it with such confidence and that baby face grin. As if is ready to take on city politics. He and that mega-CEO mind of his

Does anyone in Knoxville actually read the information that is made available to them?

Many people would not consider being stopped for speeding, then being taken to Jail on a trumped up charge as being arrested. Folks, he only spent about an hour at the Jail. He was stopped at 11:07PM and then released at 12:50AM after he made a Cash Bond payment, and signed for it himself. Please note that there is no attorney listed on any of the documents as representing Padgett. And when you look at the Court Settlement, the fine of $88.00 is actually a Court Cost of $75.00, and two other fees for the $13.00, which means that he did not actually even pay a Fine for this trumped up charge.BTW, the only reason that picture looked like that is his Eyes were closed, so what? All the posters here that posted these comments since yesterday, would look the same under these circumstances. Actually, probably not with as much hair.

Well, I have been thinking about that as well. Maybe when the FOP first asked him he just said no for the reason I stated above. And then when it came up again in the Balloch interview, he just forgot, 12 months into the campaign and all. But I don't have a guess what the issue is with Donila's questions.

But really, that's a good question, that only Padgett can answer.

And I do agree with a few of the Poster's that complained about the FOP making any statements about this after they endorsed Ms. Rogero. Something just seems wrong with that, and I am not challenging their claims, but just that it does not seem right to me.

That is a ridiculous statement. If you are handcuffed, read your miranda rights, fingerprinted, put in a holding cell and charged, I am SORRY that is called being arrested. And if it's the only time - certainly you remember it.

It's not something you forget.

The question begs - why did he lie?

My answer, because they likely already had decided they would attack Madeline for being arrested for protesting, and he knew it wouldn't be a great move if he was arrested too. Secondarily, he probably thought as it was a police organization it would make him less likely to be endorsed.

My theory is that he thought it wouldn't come up again. And when he did, he thought he could lie to the KNS about it because the FOP told him questions were confidential.

His bad luck that they decided his lying to them breached that confidentiality.

And really, whoever was trying to spin this. He told the FOP he'd never been arrested because he didn't consider this an arrest and then told the KNS the FOP didn't ask him the question because he forgot they asked him?

Where does it say that he was handcuffed, fingerprinted, put in a holding cell and charged with anything other than a Reckless driving charge?

It says on the Release sheet that a Cell was not assigned. There is also no information here about his car getting impounded, and how it was released. I am going to take that to mean that it was not impounded, and the passenger drove the car to wherever Padgett was taken.

A former senior Padgett staffer, who has since left for a job in another city, told me this afternoon that the arrest was never "common knowledge" among staff. This is a person who joined the campaign at the very start and had no idea. Clearly, if Mark hid it from his senior staff, he probably hid it from the FOP.

So this for anonymous with regards to Reckless Driving. In any police station around the country, when charged w/ a FELONY which is what Reckless Driving is, and you have a mughshot, it's step 3 in the process of being booked. It is illegal to travel, while charged with a crime in a police vehicle without being handcuffed.

You have NO IDEA how law enforcement works. If he has a mugshot, he was handcuffed, fingerprinted and held in a cell.

The police don't list cell numbers, until you have been processed and it's determined that you have to pass before the judge before you can ask for terms of release on ROR.

So - it's not my facts that need to be checked - it's your complete ignorance of the booking and charge process.

Padgett knew it, he was arrested and he hid it. You are writing scripts for why he should be exonerated from lying even though the facts are relatively clear here.

Don't mean to be argumentative, but there was no ROR in this case. He clearly posted a Cash Bond. Padgett did not appear before a judge to do it, and was not assigned a Cell number on the release documents so he had already been processed. The whole thing took probably less than an Hour. Look at the times on the Paperwork. There is no night court judge in Walton County. You might be correct about the process where ever you come from, but not every jurisdiction does the same thing.

Florida Speed trap communities, have lots of their own ways of doing things

And as far as it being illegal to ride in a Police Car without Handcuffs on, you might want to look at the Show COPS to see that this happens everyday, across the country.

BTW, in a ROR-(Release On Own Recognizance) process, there is no Bail or Bond posted, the person just signs a statement promising that they will return for trial.

Come on, you can do better than that. If you are going to throw crap out here at least check your facts first.

Yet again, you are so incredibly off track and misguided it barely deserves a response.

You're Kool-Aid response are ridiculous. How many speeding tickets have you received where a mugshot was required?

Ok, thanks - and b/c reckless driving is not constituted by excessive speed in the state of Florida (which all HP are aware of), your attempt to muddy the waters is again wrong.

Police cannot transport people in the car w/out handcuffing them for issues concerning safety for themselves and those that might hurt themselves while in transport. Your attempt to use a "cops" reference is laughable.

The reality is, he was arrested, fingerprinted, mugshot taken, held in a holding cell and he posted bond. He clearly knew he was arrested, and clearly lied in the interview.

Sad that you would defend someone who clearly lied and is simultaneously running for the highest office in the land.

the glass is usually half empty

My name is Mike Donila and I'm a reporter with WBIR in Knoxville, TN. I cover government. All politics is local, and mostly ridiculous. Travis Fain of Lucid Idiocy said that. He's a smart guy. This is my blog. The content ranges.